The Tattooed Lady

For a performer like nora, the captivity narrative served double duty. It was a way to hook the audience with an over the dramatic story, but it also gave her an excuse for her tattoos. Nora would eventually have her common law husband, who'd done her tattoo specifically so she could be a tattooed lady, committed to an tution. They would perform together as a tattooed couple, travelling with barnum and bailey and working at many well known new york dime museums while living in brooklyn until she died of pneumonia in her mid thirties.